Learning and Discovering Through Play and Exploration

My son asked to make a St. Patrick’s Day craft today. I didn’t have anything planned but I made a few suggestions and he said he wanted to make a pot of gold.
Materials
cup or plastic container (we recycled an applesauce container)
construction paper: black, red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo (optional), and purple
ruler
pencil
scissors
glue
Directions
1. Cut a length of black construction paper long enough to wrap your plastic cup or container and glue the paper around the container.
2. … Read entire article »

At a recent trip to the American Museum of Natural History, we say this Dinosaur Skeleton Fossil Playset and I claimed it as my own souvenir when my boys opted for Safari Dinosaur figurines instead.
I immediately thought it would be lots of fun to try to identify our dinosaur fossils and make impressions of them on play dough for a dinosaur fossil craft and activity. Our kids are definitely paleontology fanatics. The two older kids … Read entire article »

Both of my kids made this plastic bottle snowman craft in their classes this December. In their classes, they used a 2 liter soda bottle but I thought it would look neat with any sized bottle–you could make an entire family of plastic bottle snowmen from water bottles, sports drink bottles, soda bottles…any plastic bottle!
Materials:
plastic bottle with the label removed
white tissue paper or tissues
styrofoam ball (available in craft stores)
sticks or pipe cleaners/chenille stems (for arms)
toilet … Read entire article »

My daughter cannot bring candy in with her Valentines so we could not use lollipop Valentines. Instead, we usually use pencils. This year, she wanted something different and we found a bag of inexpensive heart mazes at Michaels. So, we made these “A-MAZE-ing” class photo valentines.
First I took a photo of my daughter holding a giant poster board/oak tag heart. I ‘shopped a clip art hear-shaped maze over the heart. This way, there is a … Read entire article »

I thought my son was going to do the lollipop photo valentines we did last year, and the year before that for his sister. Then, he suddenly wanted superhero valentines. Superhero Lollipop Valentines. Great! No Problem! I’ll just print out these awesome free printable templates from Zakka Life and… No, wait, he wants Super Hero logos, inside hearts. And Batman needs a bat mask. And Wonder Woman needs a tiara. And Spider-Man needs his Spidey … Read entire article »

We’ve made salt ceramic heart ornaments for the last few Valentine’s Days but I’ve never had the time to post them before! Salt ceramic is great because it is non-toxic and air dries to a nice sheen. You can color it in advance or paint once it is dry. Salt ceramic is shinier and harder than salt dough and does not need to be baked.
We have fun measuring the ingredients out, flattening the dough, cutting … Read entire article »

Even before my eldest could talk, she loved birds. I admit, I did not know much about birds before my kids came along, but I’ve learned a lot along with them.
For my daughter’s Daisy troop, we made these pine cone song birds. My son wanted to make one, too! Next month, February, is National Backyard Bird Feeding Month and this is a cute little craft to do with kids.
Materials
pine cone
googly eyes
feathers
paint
glitter (optional)
tacky glue
glue dots
orange and/or … Read entire article »

Holly, a friend of mine, posted this family reindeer footprint craft and was kind enough to allow me to share it with you. Isn’t it adorable? If you are looking for a Christmas or winter craft to do this weekend, just get out your paints and feet and you’ll have a sweet reindeer keepsake–you can even include Rudolph.
Materials:
brown, black, and red paint
white paper
frame (optional)
Directions:
1. Paint a foot of each family member with brown paint and … Read entire article »

With Thanksgiving so early this year and coming on the heals of the Sandy “Frankenstorm,” we’ve been focusing on helping others and keeping things simple. We did spend a little time revisiting the classic “Hand Turkey” Thanksgiving craft with our own spin–a handprint and footprint Turkey–and then added a new twist. This time, we used magazines and catalogs for our tail feathers.
Materials:
construction paper (blue, green, brown, red, and orange)
googly eyes
magazines or catalogs
glue
scissors
pen or pencil
1. Fold … Read entire article »

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About the Author

Candace Lindemann is a published children’s writer and educational consultant. She holds a B.A. from Yale University and an M.Ed. from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Working with school districts around the country and some of the most well-known companies in the education industry, Candace creates custom strategies, textbooks, and lesson plans. Her articles have appeared in print and online.

While Candace’s degrees prepared her for a career in education, she’s found that the best preparation for parenting is on the job training.